#pinaywriter

“It is a shame that a practice that conveys so much prestige, beauty and history is now spoken of with embarrassment. Although this practice has largely disappeared from the Philippines it should not, by any means, be forgotten. Because many Filipinos do not realize the importance tattooing once played as part of our archipelago’s culture.” From Filipino Tattoos: Ancient to Modern by Lane Wilcken . As I grew up, I was like, "Hey, even though I felt like ... I didn't have any power or voice, I can find that through writing." ... I never committed to it fully until I got the idea in 2007 to write a book about people who ... felt that feeling of being the outsider or being the outcast.—From an interview with Sabaa Tahir in the Chicago Tribune 2015 . I started looking into the deep history of stories about these gods and goddesses — I call them that, because they’re similar to saints or angels. And a few months later, I started to think about what it would be like to do a story with a world based off those gods. I knew then that I had something worth writing that we hadn’t seen before.—From an interview with Tomi Adeyemi in Vulture February 18, 2018 . This was an emotional post for me to write because I had to look back at the last 2 1/2 years of writing this book to answer this prompt. It’s made me realize so many things kept me going, but these people and their stories inspired me to tell my story. Lane Wilcken’s book has taught me so much about my ancient culture and the need to share it. Sabaa Tahir showed me that brown Asian writers can be published. Tomi Adeyemi has created the way for more folkloric fantasies to follow. Moana (parts of my costume featured here) is proof that people are ready for a strong Island princess. .
If you’re a writer or an artist, what books and/or movies influenced you? . What are you all reading? I’m still reading Children of Blood and Bone. I’m savoring it because I don’t want it to end! For #marchlitwrit Book that has inspired your work and #marchbookstagram18 Author you want to meet . #jennfswrites #writerswrite #writerswhobookstagram #gutsgloryglitter #pinaywriter #amrevising #writerlife #readerlife #writingtips #momswhowrite

In Uliteg’s hand was a karambit, a curved short blade. Uliteg’s dark eyes darted to the tree and then back at her. His guarded expression was to intimidate her, but instead it strengthened her determination. Vivian gripped the kali sticks and prepared to fight her uncle. . He stalked toward her, but Vivian circled away. His demeanor told her that this was a test. She did not know what the test was for, but she also did not want to disappoint him. . She would stop short of killing him. . From my current WIP: The Lost Daughter of the Forest . If you’re a writer or an artist, what was it like sharing your work with other people for the first time? . Okay. So I’ve been talking about this book I’ve been writing, but I think this is the first time I’ve shared anything from it here. I’m not going to lie, I’m really nervous sharing it! I’ve actually shared a third of my draft in a writer’s group that I was in and they were very supportive of my work. . Two years later, my draft finished, and now I’m currently in revisions, I have to say, it’s both exciting and terrifying to think I’m close to querying this story. My goal is to have my draft ready so that when I participate in #dvpit in April, it’ll be ready for queries (if agents actually show interest!) . I also want to give a special thanks to the ladies who host the #marchlitwrit challenge. It’s been such a great experience connecting with other writers and cheering each other on! I’m also enjoying the focus the challenge brings—I’m thinking about writing everyday! The ladies hosting are tagged in this post! Please check them out! . How was your weekend? Anyone else struggling through the time change? 😧😩 . #marchlitwrit Favorite quote from your WIP . #jennfswrites #writerswhobookstagram #writersofinstagram #amrevising #writerlife #notebookaddict #readerlife #writingtips #momswhowrite #writerswrite #readerlife #amwritingfantasy #writinglife #writingquotes #amediting #pinaywriter #writersofinsta #aspiringwriter #authorsofcolor #pocwriters

Who here is a writer too? I originally started this account as a platform to share my journey to becoming a published author. I’d been sharing the steps in my writing process and about my experience in The Writer’s Studio Online through Simon Frasier University. It was such a rewarding program. I highly recommend it! . But you’ll see that the majority of my posts are about books and reading which as a writer, I firmly believe that in order to become a better writer, you have to read. If I’m honest though, talking about books and reading is a lot easier to talk about than writing. Writing is such a solitary act but unlike reading, when you’re working on a project, you can’t really give away too many details and there really isn’t a way to make “I’m still writing” sound more exciting. 😅 . But I’m at the point where I’ve finished my first draft and I’m beginning my revisions. My goal this year is to finish revisions by April/May. I hope to start querying by the summer. . I’m also going to post more about writing to keep me accountable and if you all like to help by kindly inquiring on my progress, even better! . If you check out my stories (after all the stuff about my current reads), I actually shared some books about writing, a peak of my book map, and a glance at the hard copy of my draft (collated, hole punched, in a binder). Awesome, right? 😄 . I hope you all had a great week! If you’re a writer, what are you writing about? If not, what are your plans for the weekend? We’re going to get the house ready for my oldest son’s birthday next weekend. He will be eleven. And now my eyes are wet. 😭 . #jennfswrites #writerswhobookstagram #writersofinstagram #gutsgloryglitter #pinaywriter #writerlife #notebookaddict #amwriting #amwritingfantasy #readerlife #writingtips #momswhowrite

It's been a while since I shared my progress on my novel! I finished my draft in August and took some time off before revising. And to be honest, when you do a thing for two years and you finish the thing, it kind of messes with you and so I had to spend some time sorting myself out. As an aspiring author, you're goal is to finish the story. It's different for everyone but the message is to don't give up. But when you finish, it's like, now what? 🤷🏽‍♀️ . I had to spend some time rethinking what I wanted for my story and how I could fix it. It's not easy because when you finish a draft (that took two years to write), it's hard accepting that there's still a lot of work to do. . Once I came to terms with the fact that I needed to revise (because a part of your brain wants to be done with the thing), I took out a new notebook (because any reason to use a new notebook is the bee's knees) and did a brain dump of all the things I wanted for this story. I spent some time hemming and hawing at the audacity of my demands (if I were the drinking type, copious amounts would have been consumed) and when I decided it was time to get down to business (read: talk myself down from the very high ledge I put my self on), I began to systematically break down my wishlist for this book into actionable tasks. . Basically, I Hermioned the hell out of what needed to be done. . I printed index cards summaries of each chapter (compliments of Scrivener's index card feature), then I created an index/list in my notebook with each chapter, noting the Acts and Climax points in the story and now I'm book mapping my story--a developmental editing strategy to show where themes and other details show up in the story for consistency and pacing. . If your eyes are crossing at this point, it all means I'm kicking ass on this revision. . I'm actually excited for October (and not just because it's my birthday month and Halloween 😜), but the light at the tunnel does not seem so far away now. I'm setting a goal to be done with revisions by the end of this month! . Anyone else get excited about doing things that involve notebooks and lists? 🤓 . #jennfswrites #writerswhobookstagram #pinaywriter

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